The Acrobat, The Princess
by animerival
Summary: A collection of TyZula stories of all genres. An exploration of the imperfect but beautiful relationship between Princess Azula and her acrobatic companion Ty Lee.
1. First Kiss

**A/N: TyZula has become my favorite pairing in the Avatar world. This will be a collection of drabbles based on their relationship. Basically, anything TyZula-themed that isn't long enough to post separately will go here. Please review, or even leave me a request if you'd like!**

**(These will probably all be posted originally on my tumblr, but I like to post things here as well for people who don't have one.)**

She follows every command her princess issues. _Don't wear so much bright pink when I have a headache. Hold this target so I can practice throwing knives. Don't tell anyone how you got that burn. Let me have your dessert, it's my favorite._

She adores her princess to the point that her flaws disappear. People become just as afraid to bad-mouth the royal family when she is around as they would be in front of the Fire Lord himself. Her loyalty is to her princess above all else and she will allow no one to suggest her princess is imperfect in any way.

She observes the things that please her princess most. The first day she wore her hair in a braid, she noticed how her princess kept glancing at it, a hint of a smile on her face. That was enough for her to braid her hair every day from then on, waking up even earlier to make sure it is soft and with no fly-aways as she winds it down her back.

She gets older but only celebrates her princess's birthday. New feelings awaken in their small group of friends and she must listen to her princess complain about her brother and Mai dating and fervently agrees that her princess deserves to be loved more than anyone else.

And oh, she loves her princess.

So she doesn't wait for a command or permission. After all, she's seen enough of the signs, and she can't wait any longer, even at the risk of angering her princess.

It is her princess's birthday and they are alone in her room. She tells her she has one more gift for her and can hardly breathe as she raises her eyebrow and murmurs, _Oh?_

She closes her eyes, leans forward, presses her warm lips against her princess's smooth, cold ones. She hears her princess gasp- her princess, who's never taken off-guard!- and then feels her smile against her mouth. The kiss lengthens, her princess dominates, her face flushes as the inner fire of her princess makes itself known, skin to skin.

She belongs to her princess alone.


	2. The Favor is Repaid I

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has followed or reviewed so far! Please continue reading to satisfy your TyZula cravings. RosiePeverell's request helped inspire this one, though it doesn't quite go the direction she suggested- I will try to write something truer to your request as well in the future, don't worry!**

**This story is mildly AU, where Azula is the ruler of her nation and has yet to meet Ty Lee. It was getting a little longer than expected, so I'm going to continue it in the next update. Review to let me know what you think and where you imagine this heading.**

Among the words one should never be able to apply to battle, "monotonous" ranked fairly high. Princess Azula was becoming restless, thoroughly bored with the lack of imagination and skill on the part of her opponents. It was only the sheer size of the army that had allowed them to survive so long against her soldiers' siege. This city had been admirably stubborn in refusing to submit to Princess Azula's authority, even as all the ones around it bowed down to the cruel firebender. At any rate, today was the day they would fall, and Azula could go back to her decidedly more rewarding life at the palace, and hopefully whatever city decided to oppose her regime next would have a few tricks in store.

After making sure each group of soldiers was fully prepared, she shot a single blue flame into the sky, the signal for them to attack. A minority of them rushed forward to meet their foes head-on, but most of them were applying the sneaker tactics Azula was famous for. She smiled faintly, victory visible on the horizon, and set off on her own mission.

The beauty of being a young, female rule was that it always threw off her enemies. It would have been insulting, their insistent disbelief that she could truly be the ruler of a growing empire, except that it was so easy to convert them to obedient citizens after a simple show of her abilities. It was a reliable cycle: face the enemy, have the enemy misjudge her strength, and then dominate completely. Since it was something she got to do in person, it wasn't nearly as boring as having her soldiers win battle after battle for her.

Her mission that day was to reach the core of the city and take down its ruling family herself. She would immensely enjoy the pleas for mercy, as if that was an option after they had defied her. She would act as though it was, of course, giving them false hope that would deliciously disappear almost as quickly as it appeared in their eyes.

It was an hour until dusk, Azula quickly judged, pulling a thin black cloak over her crimson armor. It had a hood in case she needed to hide her face or, more likely, her tell-tale flame-shaped crown. Hiding wasn't usually a tactic employed by the princess, though.

She rode her komodo rhino closer to the battle and the city's walls, abandoning it and dashing through the vicious scuffling. She jetted over the wall, knocked out the two guards who noticed her descent, and casually strolled through the streets. They were empty and every window was shut as families hid from the brewing fight. All the guards were positioned at the city's various entrances and with the soldiers already engaged, it was like a ghost town, the fighting in the distance like haunting wails.

Clinging to shadows, she weaved through the streets to the grand castle her targets lived within. More guards were posted in front so Azula climbed up the rocky wall and melted the glass of a window before leaping inside, rolling on her shoulder to break her fall.

She'd acquired a map of the castle beforehand and knew exactly where the throne-room was, as well as every family member's bedroom. It was likely they were gathered together at a time like this, so Azula went to the throne-room first, rendering a servant or two unconscious along the way.

The Ming family, the rulers by bloodline for centuries of the sprawling city, currently consisted of four members: the King and Queen, a teenaged daughter, and a toddler. It was rumored that the daughter, who was a little older than Azula herself, was a skilled assassin, though the King and Queen were useless when it came to combat. Azula wondered if the girl would put up a fight. She hoped so.

Upon reaching the throne-room, she flung open the door and swept her eyes across the extravagant expanse before her. There was no one in sight, but Princess Azula could sense someone's presence. If it was the assassin, she'd have the keep her guard up. She edged into the room, her hands raised in a defensive stance that could, in the blink of an eye, become lethal.

The attack came from above. Azula cursed and dodged, sending a stream of fire at the blur who'd jumped her by pure reflex. The blur backflipped out of the way and landed lightly on its feet, eyes piercing Azula's.

For a moment they stared, sizing one another up. Azula's ambusher turned out to be a girl around her age, clad in skin-tight pink and with a braid winding down her back. Her eyes were soft brown, not at all the eyes of a killer, but Azula knew better than anyone how stupid it was to underestimate someone based on looks.

Still, the girl certainly seemed stupid. She was facing a firebender without wearing an ounce of armor. It was clearly so she could perform such acrobatics as jump from the ceiling and tumble through the air, but in a closed space like this it would quickly become a disadvantage. Since she had first tried a physical assault, Azula doubted she was a bender. Well, there was always the chance that assassin would come and spice things up; otherwise, this would be a predictably boring win.

She decided to taunt the girl a bit. "It's a strange time for the circus to be in town."

The girl was unphased, her smile the same mixture of determination and confidence. "Then maybe you should leave so things can get back to normal, Princess Azula."

Ah, she loved hearing her name on complete strangers' lips. "My prestige is spreading quickly, I see. I suppose I'll give you the honor of telling me your name so that you stand out from my many nameless victims. Look-wise, you clearly don't fit in." That last part wasn't actually an insult. The girl was unbelievably beautiful. Her skin was flawless, probably soft as a snowcloud, and she was flaunting much of it. Her outfit didn't leave much to the imagination either. She was slender but with perfect curves. It was a pity Azula couldn't keep her as some sort of exotic pet.

"My name is Ty Lee, but I don't plan on dying, sorry!" After she said that, she shot forward, landing on her hands and aiming a kick at Azula. Azula dodged and retaliated with a punch, since the girl was so close. As her knuckles slammed into Ty Lee's stomach, she relished the fact that her skin was as soft as she'd imagined. She blamed this distraction for what happened next.

Ty Lee lost her breath from the punch but struck back, landing on her feet and hitting Azula's side and left arm. Azula growled and shot more fire at the girl, who somersaulted out of the way. This girl definitely belonged in the circus. Then, when she tried to follow through with a blast of fire from her left side, she found the air stay curiously inferno-free. The slight smirk from Ty Lee signaled that the girl had something to do with this impossible turn of events.

That smirk was too much. No one got the upper hand against Azula. She would have shot the girl through the heart with lightning right then if there wasn't something off with her bending. That move required both hands and her left arm felt strangely useless.

Azula did the next best thing, then: she removed a hidden dagger and sent it flying towards the girl's heart, but this Ty Lee was apparently one part acrobat, two parts flying lemur, jumping out of the way to a height that clearly stated, "Screw you, gravity."

And now she was laughing! "Sorry, Princess, but Mai throws way worse than that at me all the time."

Mai... That was the name of the assassin daughter of the royal family. So this girl had some close connection to them, though it seemed ludicrous that she'd been hired to protect them, such a young, vulnerable girl.

The ache in her arm said she wasn't _that _vulnerable.

Azula charged forward, bending with her right arm at record speed, but all she succeeded in doing was singe the tip of Ty Lee's braid as she cartwheeled over and jabbed her other side and both legs. Her hands, delicate and feminine, held in them a speed and strength even Azula had to respect, though she was more focused on remaining standing than applauding her attacker. Somehow, it was no longer an advantage that they were in a tight space. Azula was unable to fend off Ty Lee's subsequent moves, and she found herself flat on her back, no longer able to move.

She glared up at Ty Lee with an intense hatred. Feeling helpless, weak- it was blasphemous to her existence and she would make the girl pay the second her body began listening again. But Ty Lee wasn't even looking at her; she was holding her braid in her hand and pouting at the burnt tip, the only imperfection in her looks even after their fight.

"Now I'll have to cut it," she sighed dramatically.

Azula sneered, "Come closer and I'll cut it for you."

Ty Lee eyed the fallen princess and a hint of a smile played on her face. With the slightest, slowest movements, she approached Azula and crawled over her, positioning herself above the princess on her hands and knees.

"You know, when you're not trying to kill me, you're kinda pretty."

**To be continued next chapter...**


	3. The Favor is Repaid II

__**A/N: And in this chapter, a continuation of the last update, we get an even heavier dose of TyZula. Thanks for reading and enjoy!**

_Ty Lee eyed the fallen princess and a hint of a smile played on her face. With the slightest, slowest movements, she approached Azula and crawled over her, positioning herself above the princess on her hands and knees._

_"You know, when you're not trying to kill me, you're kinda pretty."_

As if Azula hadn't already been entertaining similar thoughts about Ty Lee. Still, she didn't think Ty Lee would say something like that so unabashedly. Relationships of the same sex were strictly taboo in their society and Azula had never given much thought to romance anyway, seeing it as a waste of time and energy. But everyone who'd ever caught her eye had been female, and Princess Azula would never let anyone tell her what she could or could not do or feel. Her lust for the girl was already fading, however; losing was just such a turn-off.

She blew fire at Ty Lee, her mouth being the last part of her still functional. Ty Lee squeaked and back off for a moment before returning to her former position. "I don't want to block all your chi, you know, you can use your mouth for other things."

Chi-blocking? That was a new one. Azula narrowed her eyes, trying to discern how much of a threat the flirty girl still was. There was a lot more to her than met the eye, and well... A lot met the eye.

Inwardly, she grinned evilly. She'd just come up with a plan to win this fight. Even with all her chi interrupted, she would reveal her adaptive nature and emerge victorious.

"What did you have in mind?" Azula asked with false innocence that wasn't meant to fool the girl.

"I have a few ideas..." Ty Lee trailed her lips along Azula's jawline. Suddenly, she claimed the princess's lips, her kiss changing from sweet to hungry and back again. Azula could taste a hint of fireflakes on the girl's lips.

Azula had never kissed anyone or been kissed before but after half a minute of Ty Lee as her skillful teacher, she felt adequate enough to take the lead. She quickened the pace, slipping her tongue into the acrobat's mouth. Ty Lee responded enthusiastically, rubbing their tongues together and pressing her body fully against Azula's. Azula was unable to grip her, since only her facial muscles were still working, so Ty Lee took it upon herself to increase their physical contact. She cupped Azula's cheek and broke the kiss for a moment, allowing them both to catch their breath, before she switched her focus to Azula's neck. She sucked gently on the skin, then sensed the impatience of the girl beneath her, and added more force to the action. She let go of Azula's face and trailed her fingers down to the top of the princess's collar. "All this armor just gets in the way..."

"Deal with it," Azula snapped. Ty Lee glanced up into her luminous amber eyes and felt her pulse increase. Princess Azula really was attractive, her prettiness laced with noble fierceness. The gleam of passion in her eyes pulled the acrobat in, causing her to prolong what she'd begun on a whim. She started to imagine the princess's hands on her bare skin and shuddered lightly. Azula, who missed nothing, smirked. With her mouth twisted up like that, it detracted from her looks, so Ty Lee hid it with another round of kissing.

With Ty Lee thoroughly distracted, Azula wriggled her toes and was pleased to find control over her muscles returning to her. A few more minutes of this and-

She moaned as Ty Lee nibbled on her lower lip. She instantly felt like blushing at such an disgusting sound coming from her vocal chords but that just would have made it worse. This girl was overly talented with her mouth and Azula's competitive nature arose with the need to show Ty Lee that she could be made to moan, too.

She deepened their kiss, claiming the territory in Ty Lee's mouth as her own- and trust her, she knew what it was like to claim territory. It would help if she could move her hands, but if she could, then she could end her plan anyway, that was right. Having her first kiss become a full-blown make-out session was messing with her mind.

She captured Ty Lee's lower lip none too gently and sucked on it fervently. Ty Lee's eyes fluttered shut in pleasure. Azula felt pleased and was thinking of other ways to dazzle the acrobat when a voice interrupted them.

"Ty Lee, this really isn't what I asked you to do."

Ty Lee's eyes shot open and she all but flew off Azula, turning to the girl in the doorway. "Mai! I, um-"

"Save it," Mai drawled, twirling a dagger around her long fingers. An expression of deep boredom on her face, she leaned over and stared at Princess Azula. "Your army is retreating, Princess."

"You lie," Azula hissed, newfound anger replacing any lingering feelings of discomfort at being discovered tangled together with Ty Lee.

"I'd say see for yourself, but it seems you still can't move." Mai walked to the open window and leaned out through it. "There they go. I expected more of a challenge from the princess's army, but oh well."

Azula was seething at this information. Mai wasn't lying; Azula _always _knew when she was being lied to, even if the potential liar was as deadpan as the assassin. As fury coursed through her veins, she felt all her power return, and knew the chi-blocking had worn off.

She lifted herself up and darted out the doorway, sending a blast of fire behind her to discourage a chase. Ty Lee still seemed to be considering running after her, but Mai stopped her. Ty Lee walked over to Mai and watched through the window as Princess Azula swiftly made her escape from the city. "Should we really have let her go?" she asked.

"Chasing her down is too much trouble, and being out in the open gives her the advantage over your fighting style."

"True..." Ty Lee couldn't prevent a hint of disappointment from coloring her voice.

"Was she that good of a kisser, Ty?" Mai mused.

"She was great," she sighed happily.

"Well, anyway, I suppose I should thank you for watching over my family while I was fighting her forces."

Ty Lee gazed out the window until Azula wasn't even a speck on the horizon. "Consider the favor repaid."


	4. No, You're Not

**A/N: This chapter contains just a tiny hint at TyZula, but I really like it. Exploring Azula's mind, especially after her fall from glory, fascinates me. So, please forgive the lack of romance, which will return next update. Speaking of those, for the foreseeable future, I will be updating this story each Friday!  
**

_"I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother."_

_"No, you're not."_

During Azula's first few months of therapy, she could recall nothing but her final hours of freedom. Images and scenes would flash in her mind: a broken mirror, a coveted crown hovering above her head, her mother _lying _to her, telling her she was loved... Every minute detail was remembered and scrutinized until it stopped making sense at all. Her brother had been there and that Water Tribe peasant and her mother trying to make her stop fighting with Zuko when everything was his fault anyway and he _deserved-_

Her emotions kept boiling over until she screamed at the ceiling in rage and guards would come in, gagging her and tightening the bonds on her arms.

There was a man who kept asking her questions. He was the only person she seemed allowed to give an emotional response to. In fact, not a single session with him went by without Azula cursing him and trying to spit fire far enough to hurt him. He brought up everything Azula had buried deep in her subconscious, like the pretty girl in pink who must not have ever really loved her, like the father she'd done everything in her power to please but was now the epitome of the failure he scorned.

Azula spent the time between sessions forgetting everything the man drudged up from her heart.

The first break in this routine occurred three months after her imprisonment. She had a visitor. He approached the steel bars of her cell and watched her lift her head from her chest, giving him a cruel, icy glare. "Hello, _brother._"

He was wearing the crown of the Fire Lord, how _dare _he think himself worthy of that title! Azula clenched her teeth, waiting to hear what the coward had to say. She ignored the appearance of her mother in the cell beside her, rubbing her back comfortingly, smiling at Zuko like she always did. The doctor told her that her mother was still missing but Azula knew he was a liar too because her mother visited her almost every day.

"Azula..." There was sadness in his voice, and perhaps disappointment. Azula snorted. What, did he really think she was going to _change _and become part of the nauseating friendship he'd formed with inferior benders and even the Avatar? "Are you even trying to get better?"

Bristling, Azula sneered, "Better? I've always been better than you, so what could you possibly mean?"

"You know what I mean. I want you to get better. I want you to be able to come back to the palace someday."

"You're lying. You hope I rot here."

"If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't have come to visit."

"You merely wanted to see me finally in a position inferior to you."

"Azula," he sighed, rubbing the back of his head in frustration, "I know you don't believe me now, but I love you. I'll keep sending the best doctors here to help you out. And... I'm sorry I had to send you here in the first place."

Azula dropped her head again, tired of his grating voice. She just wanted him to leave her alone. She wanted everyone to leave her alone, since they all would eventually.

"No," she whispered to him, "you're not."


	5. Bandages

**A/N: For RosiePeverell's request. I had a lot of fun writing this. If anyone else has a request, leave it in a review and I'll see what I can do.**

The ship's infirmary was purposely small. The ship was under Princess Azula's control and to her, an injured servant was a useless one. It followed, then, that she would have little patience for soldiers who needed to recover after battle, preferring to leave such people at shore for others to deal with.

But presently, there was someone resting on pristine sheets in the infirmary, an exception clothed in pink that brightened up the otherwise dull room. She was asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly in a rhythmic pattern. Princess Azula paced about, steel boots clanking against the floor, every now and then glancing at Ty Lee with an unfathomable expression.

One of Ty Lee's arms and part of her face were covered with cotton bandages. Underneath the blanket, more bandages were wrapped around her left ankle. The air smelled of the sterile cream spread over her cuts to prevent infection and Azula wrinkled her nose in distaste.

The physician had assured Princess Azula that her wounds were not bad and would soon heal. He'd stuttered out under her harsh glare that Ty Lee would just need to rest for a few days, no, just a week, really, she'd be as good as new! He knew Azula's policy on injured combatants and did his best to plead Ty Lee's case. (Many of the ship's inhabitants had developed a soft spot for the former circus performer. When Princess Azula began traveling with just Mai and Ty Lee, they had been relieved, but even when she returned to the ship for short periods of time, at least she brought Ty Lee, who was both friendly and entertaining.)

Azula had dismissed the doctor an hour ago and hadn't yet left the infirmary, nor had Ty Lee awoken. Azula used the time to replay the events that had led to this.

_"Stop," Azula barked, eyes darting left and right over the rocky terrain. Mai and Ty Lee became as still as the muggy afternoon's nonexistent breeze. As well-versed as they were in survival, a handy skill to have when the Fire Nation princess took an interest in one's presence, it was no time before they knew what had captured Azula's attention._

_Over the mound of boulders northeast of them, rustling fabric and tense breaths could just barely be heard, and then only by the trained ear. An ambush lay in wait for them._

_After Azula nodded at her companions, they launched into action. Ty Lee barreled over the top of the huge boulders, landing softly in the midst of the dozen or so people behind it. They scrabbled backwards in surprise, but not before Ty Lee had blocked the chi of half of them. Mai rounded a boulder's edge into sight and released several arrows from her layered robes, taking out two more. Azula appeared seemingly from nowhere and took out the rest with an impressive blue flame. "Amateurs," Mai remarked, composure already regained._

_"Yep. Did they really think they could take _us _on?" Ty Lee chirped, hands on her hips._

_Princess Azula said nothing, sensing that the battle had been too easily won, even for them. Her hunch was confirmed when more attackers surrounded them on all sides, having arrived silently._

_Azula punched the ones closest and used fire against those out of her reach. Mai and Ty Lee got right back into the flow of battle, moving fluidly and taking down target after target. They were clearly of Earth Kingdom origin and Azula figured they had somehow discovered her whereabouts and decided to either kill her or take her hostage. Neither would be happening, of course._

_Even if their numbers were annoyingly huge._

_"Azula! Watch out!" came a frantic, high-pitched voice that could only belong to Ty Lee. The acrobat herself landed next to her even as Azula whirled around to assess the threat Ty Lee was worried about._

_Five or six of their attackers had grouped together to come at the princess. Unlike the rest of them, these men were benders, and they seemed more of the "kill her" school of thought than "capture her." Ty Lee set to work making their bending powers useless, but now more benders kept coming, and they were greatly outnumbered, even with Mai picking them off from the other side of the battlefield. Azula scanned the fight, looking for any weaknesses as she dodged chunks of earth and replied with searing flame._

_When it became obvious even these benders would lose, their instincts kicked in and their attacks became bolder, and in a last-ditch effort they formed their earthen ammo into deadly points and shot them at once at the princess. With so many coming, it was impossible to dodge them all. Ty Lee saw this, and wrapped herself around Azula, becoming her human shield. Most of them were appalled when they saw not the armor-clad Azula take the hits but this other girl, whose pink clothing darkened to red in spots as she collapsed to the ground. Azula and Mai managed to defeat the rest of them within a minute and then Mai dropped to her knees by Ty Lee._

_"She's already lost a lot of blood," Mai confirmed, hoisting the acrobat to a sitting position. "Could you help me out?" she inquired, her voice just barely hinting at her disgust that Azula was still doing nothing for their bleeding friend. Azula frowned and said, "We need to move, in case others discover our location-"_

_"If there were any more, they would already be here," Mai retorted. She was the only one who ever cut Azula off and Azula felt rage building inside her at being spoken to in such an irreverent way but a tiny groan from Ty Lee caused her to refocus._

_She settled down on the ground, pushing an unconscious earthbender out of her way, and held Ty Lee as Mai began cutting strips of fabric from her own outfit to tie around her cuts and stop the bleeding._

After Mai had deemed her ready to be moved, they had take turns carrying her on their back to the port. Their ship had docked there recently and had been waiting for further orders from the princess. How such a large group of earthbenders had traveled so far into the Fire Nation colony they were in, and how they had gotten information about Azula's location were matters she planned on looking into personally as soon as Ty Lee was attended to.

_Why hasn't she woken up yet? _Azula thought, finally taking a seat on the bed across from Ty Lee's. Different feelings stirred in her chest but she refused to acknowledge the one that felt almost like worry.

Ty Lee had, fully knowing the risks, jumped in front of Azula to protect her. The thought of needing protection made Azula laugh derisively but she had to admit that such a blow would have certainly left her injured. She could have been unable to practice firebending for days or she could have ended up scarred like her brother.

There was no chance Mai would have done that for her. Ty Lee was much more faithful, a fact Azula often exploited. This was the farthest she'd taken her dedication, though. It was nice to know she would put Azula's life before her own no matter what, a trait Azula found quite desirable, so then just _what _was this unpleasant feeling vaguely pulsating in her mind?

Azula used people. That was their purpose, that was the reason she bothered with them at all. Yet hearing Ty Lee's labored breathing as Mai dealt with her cuts, feeling her limp body against her back as she carried her, and now waiting impatiently for the girl to regain consciousness, Azula felt something akin to guilt. She disregarded this feeling as nonsensical; Ty Lee had jumped in front of her of her own free will, after all. Azula was also being quite understanding, she thought, allowing Ty Lee to recover in the infirmary rather than be left behind like most of her injured underlings.

In fact, it was an excellent discovery, seeing just how far Ty Lee would go in order to keep Princess Azula safe. What could be the cons of having someone so ready to sacrifice her own health to ensure the princess's?

This was Azula's rationalization, the ideology that arose from her cold, privileged upbringing. Somehow, Ty Lee had brought a little light, a little warmth into her life, making Azula sometimes feel like an actual teenage girl rather than a prodigious heir. At the end of the day, though, what mattered was that one day she would be Fire Lord Azula and that power was more important that friendship.

So she completely rejected the guilty feelings still plaguing her and looked ahead to a bright future, with an elite assassin at her right hand and a foolishly caring acrobat at her left.


	6. Substitute

**A/N: This is an unusual take on TyZula. I hope you all like it. For the anonymous reviewer who left a request, I'll have that story ready in a couple of weeks.  
**

I never know when she is going to come. When she does, I stop whatever I'm doing, leave whoever I'm with, and go to her palanquin. I walk beside her entourage of guards until we reach the nearest secluded spot. She dismisses them all, and they scatter for the next hour or so, though one stays close enough to keep any passersby at bay. She turns her full attention to me and I crawl inside the palanquin and pull the curtains tightly shut.

Princess Azula is an all-around prodigy, they say. I suppose it's not surprising, then, that she excels in intimacy. No matter how many times we kiss and touch, it's new and electrifying each time. She takes away my breath and revels in this knowledge.

Sometimes, she brings me more pain than pleasure. She will tug on my braid until I cry or leave deep scratches in my skin. Even on these days, I let her do as she pleases. I can't prevent the bad moods that start before she leaves the palace; I only do my best to fulfill her expectations of me, as explained to me during our first encounter, to make the experience as positive as possible. I should have taken these rules seriously from the start, but only when she actually burnt me for not having pink on when she came across me did I take them to heart.

I do not love her and initially did not lust for her, though that is slowly changing. I obey her will because I know it is what's best for my sister. Somewhere along the way, though, it started to hurt when after our more riveting meetings, she would lean over me and whisper in my ear, "Ty Lee..."

People outside the palace don't really know what Princess Azula is like. They're lucky. The more time I spend with her, the more I see her rotten core. I kiss the beautiful monster for my sister's sake and remind myself that I am nothing more than a substitute. She never explicitly told me why being with Ty Lee herself was not an option, but it wasn't so hard to figure out.

It was the very act of desiring Ty Lee that meant she had to deny herself of my sister. Princess Azula does not want to be weak. Making herself vulnerable to Ty Lee is out of the question. If it was anyone else, Princess Azula could just take them, no feelings involved, but somehow she truly cares for Ty Lee- I can hear it in her voice when she says her name. Her conclusion was that it was better to keep Ty Lee as a friend and go after one of her identical sisters. I was the winner of this messed-up lottery.

A guard told me once I was lucky Princess Azula enjoyed my company. I am not lucky. I am confused, helpless, and used.

I will keep going to her in an effort to keep the volatile princess happy, so that she won't explode on my sister.

I will keep going to her because her body is soft and warm, unlike her personality.

I will keep going to Princess Azula, clad in a acrobat's pink costume, hair meticulously braided, and I will always respond to the name "Ty Lee."


	7. Influenced

**A/N: Fact: this is possibly my favorite update so far. I just had so much fun writing it.**

**I love the requests I've gotten so far, but I need to say that since I write them alternating with my own Tyzula ideas, it can be a bit before they're fulfilled. But they will always be fulfilled!  
**

They perched together on the rim of the turtle-duck pond just like when they were children. They were even in the same order: Azula claimed the shady spot under the tree, Ty Lee sat to her left, and across from them Mai and Zuko leaned against each other. It was wide enough to sit cross-legged on and remain dry, but Ty Lee liked to take her shoes off and dip her toes into the cool water, giggling when a the baby turtle-ducks mistook her toes for food and nibbled on them.

"It's good to have you back, Zuko," Ty Lee declared.

"Perhaps we should celebrate the occasion," Azula mused innocently. Zuko narrowed his eyes in suspicion; Azula's idea of a celebration normally ended with other people in tears and her idea of a worthy event was normally winning a battle, not having her older brother reinstated as prince. "I mean it, Zuzu. Did you bring what I asked, Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee nodded, rolling off the rim and walking on her hands to the base of the tree, where she retrieved a tiny bag. It clinked as she carried it back over, this time using her feet for travel, and she handed it to Azula. Azula emptied its contents beside her: a bottle filled with a pale liquid and four tiny goblets.

Mai raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't react as the goblets were passed around. "Azula, are you serious?" Zuko asked. "Since when do you like drinking?" He and Mai had actually shared some wine the day he returned to the Fire Nation, but he'd never known his little sister to want a substance that might inhibit her sharp mind.

"I've never drank," she admitted, "but a true ruler is versed in all sorts of matters."

"You're just curious," Ty Lee grinned and when Azula glared at her, she raised her hands in surrender and added, "Well, I am too!"

The wine was distributed among the goblets. Right as Azula's glass touched her lips, Ty Lee cried, "Wait!"

The other three lowered their glasses and looked at her and she explained, "We have to have a toast."

Azula shrugged. "If you insist." She raised her glass. "For having reuniting the lovebirds," she said, smirking at Mai and Zuko.

Mai went next. "For a less boring evening than usual."

"For regaining my honor" was, of course, Zuko's toast.

Ty Lee finished with, "I toast to the most beautiful and perfect girl I know!" Azula acknowledged the girl's typical way of praising her with a self-assured smile.

After that they sipped at the wine as dusk dragged on. It burned Azula's throat but she refused to show weakness by making a face or slowing her consumption. Mai and Zuko didn't react much to the wine itself but its effects became known when they kissed a little more than usual, something they normally only did in private. Ty Lee hated the taste and so drank it in huge gulps so as to not prolong the torture. When they were all finished, Azula produced a second bottle to pass around.

"This was a great idea, 'Zula," Ty Lee laughed, suddenly feeling quite light-headed.

Azula tried to think of some witty response but for some reason her vocabulary had shrunk and she just replied with "Uh-huh."

"You two are lightweights," Mai stated factually. Zuko started to feel a little guilty when he saw that the two younger girls were drunk.

"Are you two okay?"

"Of course we are, Zuzu," Azula said, but there was no bite to her words. She was genuinely smiling, and Azula never smiled. Smirked, leered, grinned evilly, sure. If alcohol was what it took for Azula to actually lighten up, Zuko decided there was nothing to feel bad about after all.

Anyway, Mai demanded his attention the next moment, pressing against him for a kiss. They became entranced with each other and completely forgot about the two across the tiny pond.

"They're so lucky to have each other," Ty Lee murmured, tucking her knees to her chest and casting the couple an envious look.

"You seem jealous, Ty Lee," Azula said, just barely managing not to slur the words.

"No, I'm happy for them, I just wish I could be with my true love."

Azula felt a strange pang in her chest at the girl's wording. "With your true love? So you've already found him?"

Ty Lee giggled and leaned towards Azula boldly. "Of course not. I've found _her_."

The sentence took a moment to register in Azula's muddled mind. Ty Lee was implying something all right, but anger was rising up in Azula at the thought of Ty Lee developing feelings for someone and not telling her about it until now.

"Well, congratulations," she sneered, poking at the bag and wishing there was another wine bottle. She shook her head in attempt to get control over her emotions again. She didn't remember it always being this hard.

Ty Lee was _still _getting closer, and her face was almost in Azula's. "I mean you, 'Zula."

"Ty Lee," Azula said calmly, "please remove your drunk self from my being."

Ty Lee hesitated. She never went against Azula's orders, but never before had she been so tempted to. It was time to throw caution to the wind.

She all but tackled Azula off the pond's edge and began kissing her furiously. Azula growled and flipped the acrobat over so that she was towering over her. She still couldn't fully analyze the feelings running through her mind and she'd really meant to make Ty Lee stop this foolishness but that fiery kiss had utterly swayed her mind. They kissed and kissed there on the grass, with stray leaves blowing over their entangled forms and turtle-ducks quacking a few feet away. They kissed until Mai and Zuko appeared and loomed over them and then they finally paused for breath.

"I knew it," Mai simply said while Zuko tried to conceal his shock at his suddenly quite normal, hormone-driven sister.

Ty Lee looked like she was on top of the world and she wrapped her arms around Azula when they both managed to stand. "I hope sober Azula likes kissing that much!"

"We'll see." Azula was secretly glad that Ty Lee was holding her, because she was feeling quite dizzy.

Night had fallen. They walked back to their rooms in the palace, trying to act nonchalant around the guards, with Ty Lee gripping Zuko and Azula, Mai for support; the alcohol hadn't taken too much of a toll on them. The three girls went into Azula's room for the night and Zuko continued to his room alone, shaking his head at all that had transpired that evening.

"The only bad thing," he concluded, "is that now I might have to go on double-dates with those two." But the thought of Azula doing anything romantic made him laugh until he was muffling the noise with a pillow.

In the palace that night, four content, smitten teenagers slept.

**A/N: And now I feel the need to write a sequel featuring a double-date. I will probably do that sometime.**


	8. Slipping

**A/N: For the anonymous reviewer who requested "Ty Lee comforting a crazed Azula, but in the modern world."**

"Antisocial Personality Disorder?" asked the teenage girl. Exhaustion and worry were evident on her round face. She clutched her light pink jacket to her chest and looked at the floor, at the doctor, anywhere but door behind which her best friend now lived. "But that- that doesn't explain the hallucinations, does it?"

"Those can be explained due to the extreme stress and fatigue she continually subjected herself too." The doctor glanced up from her clipboard and gave her the most comforting smile she could manage. She still couldn't believe her cruel, violent patient had such a kind, normal friend, but it gave her hope that she would pull through.

"I know she's a little messed up, but that doesn't mean the way she is is a disorder!" she protested. "Why can't she come home?"

"You know why, Ty Lee."

Ty Lee looked down, shuffling her feet and pretending she didn't. "Can I see her?"

"I don't think that's a good idea yet. When she shows some improvement in therapy, it will be safer."

"Okay. I'll be back," she promised before exiting the mental institution.

It was the middle of summer, but it felt so cold out. Ty Lee put her jacket back on and knew her chills had nothing to do with the weather. She hadn't felt well for a week, ever since... the incident.

Ty Lee had always been popular. Maybe that was why it felt so strange for her to be alone now. She didn't care to see her casual acquaintances or hear what they had to see about the incident. And she was unable to talk with her two best friends...

The hospital's automatic doors opened for and she took the elevator to the third floor. In the long-term wing of the intensive care unit, she was given permission to visit the patient in room 307 for twenty minutes. She walked into the room and closed the door behind her before pulling a plastic chair to the bedside.

"How are you doing, Mai?" She didn't answer, of course. She was still in a coma induced by Azula in a fit of rage.

_"How could you do this to me, Mai?" Azula shrieked, hands forming fists._

_"You're overreacting," Mai said coldly. "You aren't the center of my world, Azula, and it's time someone stood up to you."_

_"You'll regret this."_

Did Mai regret it? Ty Lee didn't know. She looked at the girl's extensive injuries and carefully took her hand. Mai had fought back, but in the end Azula was the better fighter. She'd aimed to kill, and now Mai was in a coma and Azula'd been committed to a mental ward and labeled mentally unstable.

"This is all my fault." Ty Lee's eyes filled with tears that she let fall down her cheeks uninhibited. She had known Azula was slipping. She was the only one privy to the girl's hallucinations, but she felt the fact that Azula trusted her enough to tell her of them meant she should keep them a secret. Besides, they weren't that strange, just images of her long-lost mother. But if she'd said something, maybe Azula could have gotten help, and then she wouldn't have attacked Mai.

Mai hadn't done anything wrong. She'd fallen in love with Azula's older brother and begin putting him first in her life, before Azula. "She still had me," Ty Lee whispered. "Why did she need everyone to prefer her?"

_Antisocial Personality Disorder._

Her visiting time was up. She left the hospital and hurried back to her apartment. She lived by herself, having moved away from her overbearing family to attend a private school in the city. Mai and Azula were her childhood friends, and they also went to the elite academy. They'd been inseparable until Mai started dating Zuko, but she was so happy with him, happier than Mai ever got, that Ty Lee wanted them to stay a couple even if Azula didn't. Zuko was also visiting Mai every day at the hospital, but he had yet to go see Azula.

Another week passed. Mai woke up and was moved to a different wing of the hospital. When Ty Lee got the news from Zuko, she rushed to the hospital to see her.

Zuko excused himself so they could speak alone. Now that Mai was actually awake, Ty Lee didn't know what to say. She didn't know what Mai wanted to hear. "I'm really glad you're okay, Mai."

"I'm glad you're okay, too," Mai said, shifting beneath the itchy hospital sheets.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought, when I woke up and realized where I was, that Azula might have hurt you too. So, where is she?"

"A mental ward," Ty Lee sighed. "No one is allowed to see her right now. They said she had a total breakdown... And that she has Antisocial Personality Disorder," she finished in a rush, wondering how Mai would take the news.

She just nodded. "I see. I'm sure you tried to visit her."

"I have to. I mean, I wish she hadn't hurt you and that I could have stopped her, but she's still my best friend. I have to be there for her."

"You're playing with fire, Ty Lee. Be careful." Zuko returned then, smiling awkwardly at Ty Lee. She promised she'd visit again soon and left the hospital. Instead of turning left for home, she went right, ending up outside the mental institution.

There was a bench across from the imposing gray building and she sat there with her legs crossed, recalling the night before Azula attacked Mai, the night that made being away from Azula that much harder.

-_the night before_-

"A sleepover sounds like fun, Azula!" The only apparent emotion in Ty Lee's voice was joy, but under her smiling mask she felt trepidation. It had been a week since Ty Lee discovered Azula was experiencing hallucinations and she sensed Azula did not want to spend the night alone, since that was when she said they were worst. Of course, Azula would never admit to needing someone to be there for her, so Ty Lee would have to help her in an unobtrusive way.

It was just going to be the two of them; Mai stayed home to study for an upcoming exam. Ty Lee made popcorn while Azula picked out some movies. Her favorite type of movie was a tie between military and horror. Either way, she would point out all the flaws in the antagonist's strategies and what she would have done in the hero's situation. Ty Lee personally thought Azula resembed the villains more but she never said it out loud.

When the serial killer on the screen claimed another victim, Ty Lee screamed and clung to Azula's arm. She expected the girl to reprimand her for making so much noise with her father home, but when she remained silent, Ty lee realized Azula was shaking. It couldn't have been from fear, because Azula wasn't afraid of anything. Looking over, she saw Azula'a eyes were unfocused.

"Azula?" she asked tentatively. Azula stiffened and sharply glanced at Ty Lee.

"Yes?"

"Um, is everything-"

"Everything is _fine. _When you found out about... the things I see... that did not mean you had permission to constantly badger me about them."

"I was just worried," she apologized, releasing Azula's arm.

Azula whirled around and glared at something only she could see. Biting her lip, she ordered, "Distract me, Ty Lee."

"What should I do?" she asked uncertainly.

"Be creative," Azula snapped.

Ty Lee really was at a loss for what to do but couldn't let her friend down. She stood and drew Azula up too, scanning the room for any object of interest.

Azula, out of patience, took the matter into her own hands.

Ty Lee let out a muffled exclamation of surprise when she found Azula's lips moving against hers. Suddenly she was against a wall and Azula wasn't just kissing, but biting. It really hurt, but Ty Lee found if she focused on returning the kiss, she didn't really feel the pain.

"Is this helping, 'Zula?" she asked when Azula paused. Azula smiled grimly.

"Yes."

This was not what Ty Lee wanted at all. Or at least, it wasn't _how _she wanted it. She'd dreamed of being held by Azula and kissing her passionately, not of being a plaything meant to take her mind off her troubles. But that was what Azula needed, and she always gave Azula what she asked for.

_seemotheriamlovedidonotneedy ouidonot_

The kiss was frantic, sloppy, and desperate, traits rarely associated with Azula. Though she was afraid to open her eyes to find out, Ty Lee suspected the other girl was crying. Ty Lee wished she could see what she was seeing, hear whatever words haunted her.

_couldamonsterhavethisnoiamno monsteriambetter_

Azula pulled her to her bed and Ty Lee pulled the comforter over them. It seemed Azula was satisfied, for the moment, so Ty Lee turned the lamp off, found the remote next to it, and turned to the television off as well. Hesitantly, somewhat expecting her touch to be rejected, she wrapped her arms around Azula and held her tightly. That was how they slept.

Neither woke up well-rested.

_-present day-_

Ty Lee knew Azula better than anyone, but parts of her mind were still impenetrable. She didn't know if Azula really cared for her or just wanted to use her. She also didn't know how long she could stand not knowing. Her mind made up, she crossed the street, went into the institution, and sought out Azula's doctor.

"I have to see her," Ty Lee begged without even saying hello.

The doctor adjusted her glasses and pursed her lips. Ty Lee was one of those people who's face one never forgot, so she immediately recognized her and knew who she was talking about. "Azula has shown no improvement-"

"That's why she needs to see me!"

"...Very well. I will allow you a short, _supervised _visit."

A few minutes later, Ty Lee was sitting across a plain white table from Azula. She looked like she hadn't slept at all since being admitted and her hair hung loose, when normally it was knotted into a fancy bun. It took all of Ty Lee's self-control not to jump over the table and hug her, but she didn't think the doctor and security guard that were standing at the doorway would like that.

"Azula, I miss you. Please get better so you can come home."

Azula sneered, "You make it sound easy to please these fools." She looked pointedly at the doctor.

"But you can do it. You can do anything, I know it."

"I heard Mai is recovering."

"Oh, uh, yeah. She's doing okay."

"Which you know because you went to see her."

"Um..."

"If you're going to pick sides, Ty Lee, then just do it and leave me alone."

"It's not like that! I want to be there for both of you! I love you both!"

"I don't believe you."

"I- you- you really _do _have a problem, Azula!" All of the sudden, Ty Lee was yelling. "You think you can control me and you thought you could control Mai! You used me to make yourself feel better without ever thinking of my feelings! Why do you think it's okay to treat your friends any way you want?"

"So you're going to leave me, too?" Azula's eyes flashed. "You're going to be a traitor like Mai? Like Mother? You know, even though no one knows where she went after she left Father, she came back to see dear Zuko once. She didn't even care to see me, because she never loved me! But I don't need her love, or yours. So get _out_."

_"No."_

"That's what you want, isn't it?"

"You don't know what I want. You don't listen to me. I just said I loved you and wanted you to get better, why would that make you think I wanted to abandon you? I want to stay with you, but I can't if everything we do is on your terms. I can't stay if I'm afraid if I show affection for anyone but you that I'll end up in a coma!"

For the first time in her life, Azula was stunned into silence. They stared at each other, Ty Lee's tear-filled eyes full of determination, Azula's beautiful amber eyes narrowed in calculation. Ty Lee shook her head. "Stop trying to look for hidden meanings in my words, 'Zula. I'm not a very complicated person."

Azula muttered something. Ty Lee tilted her head to indicate she hadn't heard her, so she hissed, "I wouldn't hurt you."

"You hurt Mai, though."

"That doesn't mean I would hurt you." She seemed to be struggling with her words, and Ty Lee was, for a moment, awestruck at the honest emotion Azula was displaying.

"I... I will always be your friend, Azula. But if you're going to get out of here, if you're going to be part of my life like before, you have to stop abusing people. You can't listen to whatever a hallucination tells you. If you want to know the truth, just ask me."

So Azula did. "Am I a monster, Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee's chest constricted when she was given this tiny glimpse into Azula's mental pain. "No. You're not. You did a horrible thing to Mai, but you're not a monster. You're a human who needs to understand love a little better. I'll help you, okay?"

Azula didn't respond. After a few minutes passed, the doctor said Ty Lee had to leave. She reluctantly stood and, without asking permission, went to Azula and hugged her. "I'll be back."

_sheislyingwhywouldshecomebac kshedoesnotwantyouwhowouldst aywithyou_

As she walked out, she heard Azula shout confidently, "I'll be expecting you, Ty Lee!"


	9. Should I Be Grateful?

**A/N: COLLEGE. WHY. So much writing, so little of it creative. Sigh. I've only written one Tyzula piece since the school year began, but I am determined to find time to write more fanfiction in general. Requests are of course still open, they just require patience. Thanks again to my reviewers- you always make me smile.**

"Hey, cutie," Ty Lee heard for the tenth time that day. With the Royal Dragon Festival only a week away, it seemed everyone was trying to find a date for the beloved annual celebration. Ty Lee, who loved parties, hated this particular festival. Boy after boy would ask her to come, but they didn't really care if it was her or one of her six identically beautiful sisters.

Ty Lee was naturally adept at flirting and made use of her skills often, but as soon as the object of her interest found out about her family, it was like she was no longer unique in his eyes but part of an attractive matched set.

An interchangeable prize.

She turned to face her would-be suitor. "Yes?"

"Wanna go to the festival with me?"

She barely recognized the boy. She thought maybe he was the older brother of one of her classmates at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

He looked taken aback. "Yeah, we talked last week."

"No, we didn't."

"Look, if you don't want to, you could just say no," he huffed.

At that moment, a shrill voice cried, "_Wu! _I've been looking for you!" A girl dressed in the academy's crimson uniform almost knocked the boy over with her forceful hug. Wu steadied himself then looked back and forth between the newcomer and Ty Lee. Ty Lee could tell he understood his mistake when he muttered an apology in her direction before giving his full attention to her sister.

Ty Lee made it halfway home before she began crying. No one could tell the difference between her and her sisters! It was heartbreaking, and it was infuriating. She ran off the trail that would have taken her home, sitting in a secluded spot under a tree while she calmed down.

"I thought I heard someone. What happened, Ty Lee?" someone asked. Ty Lee looked up to find Princess Azula only a few feet away.

She hurriedly wiped her tears away. She knew better than to show weakness to Azula. Even though they'd been friends for years now, she still found the princess mildly terrifying.

But at least _she _could recognize Ty Lee.

"Nothing's wrong, Azula," Ty Lee chirped, standing up.

"Don't lie to me." Azula rolled her eyes. "You've clearly been crying, you're in the middle of the woods, and oh yes, that festival you despise is next week. Someone mistook you for one of your siblings again, I presume?"

Ty Lee's eyes clouded. "Yes..."

In a flash- how _did _Azula move so fast?- she was being hugged by her royal friend. It was fairly uncommon for Azula to show physical affection, but Ty Lee was grateful for it, returning the hug and resting her head on Azula's shoulder.

"You know," Azula whispered in her ear, "I can help you if you want."

"What do you mean, Azula?" Ty Lee found herself whispering too, though they were alone in the woods.

Cold metal grazed her cheek and Ty Lee jumped back in alarm, spying the dagger in Azula's hand. "Azula- what-"

With a neutral expression, Azula said, "I was just going to give you a tiny cut. Something that would differentiate you from your sisters."

Shaking her head rapidly, Ty Lee backed away further. "I don't want help like that, Azula!"

"Suit yourself." Azula hid the dagger somewhere on her uniform and walked away.

When Ty Lee was making her way home later, after clearing her mind from her encounter with the princess, she wondered if Azula had been trying to help, in her own twisted way.

After all, the knife had chased away all thoughts of the boy who'd made her cry from her mind.


	10. After the Wedding

**A/N: My longest update so far. I didn't want to split it up, though, because the flow is important. This is a sort of slice-of-life, close inspection of how Azula returning to the palace after her imprisonment might have played out. Please tell me what you think!**

"You look so beautiful, Azula."

Azula peered at her reflection to gauge the compliment's accuracy. She was wearing a crimson gown that touched the floor. Metal bracelets with flame designs graced both of her wrists. Ty Lee had used some make-up on her, so her amber eyes were outlined in black and her lips shined under a layer of gloss. Only her hair was plain, hanging down her back with her bangs falling freely over her eyes. Even that way, it was perfect, if Ty Lee were to be believed.

Azula had spent a lot of time relearning to believe Ty Lee. Extending trust to others, including Mai, was still impossible. Still, when she made an effort, it pleased Ty Lee, and that was something. It seemed her only duty since her crown had been taken away was to make sure the acrobat was happy. It was a self-imposed goal, because Azula had to have something to work towards. Idleness was not an option.

"Shall we go then?" Ty Lee offered Azula her hand. She looked exquisite in a short, light pink dress. Instead of a braid, her hair was loose too, cascading down her back in waves. Ribbons the same color of her dress were tied in bows on either side of her head. Azula took her soft hand and they walked together to main courtyard.

Despite its large size, it was crowded with nobles and palace workers anxious to witness the marriage between Fire Lord Zuko and the soon-to-be Fire Lady Mai. No one paid any attention to Ty Lee and Azula. When Azula first returned to the palace, a full year ago, people had stared and pointed at her wherever she went. One day, they'd simply stopped, and Azula knew Ty Lee was the cause, though she never asked what she'd done.

Ty Lee laced her fingers through Azula's and stayed right by her side as they made their way to the seats near the altar that had been reserved for family and close friends. Azula held back for one moment when she saw Avatar Aang and his close-knit group. As usual, they regarded her with suspicion, and Ty Lee returned their looks with a glare as they sat down on the opposite side of the aisle.

When the sun reached its highest point, Avatar Aang stood before the altar and silenced everyone. Over three years had passed since he had ended the war, but the small teenager with his big hazel eyes retained his innocent features and aura. People respected him for what he'd done, of their own volition. He never had to use fear to instill obedience.

Azula mentally recited lines like this to remind herself, over and over, that the philosophies she'd been raised to believe were inherently wrong.

He began speaking. "On behalf of my good friend Zuko, I want to thank everyone for coming. It's an important day for the Fire Nation. After this ceremony, Fire Lord Zuko will be able to rule this nation with the one he loves for the rest of their days. We all saw this coming..." He smiled as the crowd laughed at the truth of the statement. Zuko and Mai were inseparable, and it could even be said she helped rule the nation already.

Ironic, really. Azula was just a peasant in the crowd and her former underling Mai would be wearing the crown. The thought stirred up unpleasant feelings in Azula's chest, so she clutched Ty Lee's hand tighter, which was a lot less destructive than her old methods of stress relief.

"And here comes the couple now."

Zuko and Mai were received with raucous cheers and applause. They wore similar crimson robes and strolled through the parting crowd without ever fully looking away from each other's face. A look of adoration was on Zuko's; Mai's expression was of content love. Azula was glad Ty Lee was sitting between her and the aisle as a sort of buffer from Mai. They had spoken in years, ever since Mai had betrayed Azula by rescuing Zuko. Azula didn't care if they ever spoke again, or so she told herself.

They stood before Aang and now it was Zuko's turn to speak. After a warm greeting, he explained, "It is customary to honor one's ancestors at this time, but we'll be doing something a little different. In this time of peace, it would be wrong to praise the memory of my father, and my mother, well..." He broke off, but he didn't need to complete the sentence. Everyone knew Ursa was still missing and that Zuko still yearned to find her. "Mai and I have decided to use this opportunity to honor someone else." Even Aang seemed puzzled, stepping back so whoever they were speaking of could have the spotlight.

Then Zuko turned to where Azula and Ty Lee sat. "Azula, would you please come up here?"

Ty Lee squeezed Azula's hand in reassurance, though she was equally clueless as to what this was about. Azula looked around her; everyone was staring curiously at her, waiting for her to move. She released her friend's hand and went to stand by Zuko and Mai.

"Azula, we want you to know you're an important part of our family. And now I'd like to reinstate you, my sister, as Princess of the Fire Nation."

Mai reached into a hidden pocket- no matter what she had on, it always had a hidden compartment or two- and pulled out a familiar item. It was Azula's crown, taken away from her before her imprisonment in a psychiatric ward. Both Mai and Zuko seemed to be waiting for Azula to say something. She stated, "I accept."

She suddenly felt hands behind her and recognized the gentle touch to be Ty Lee's. Her hair was wound into a bun and pinned into place by the acrobat's skillful hands. When Ty Lee stepped back, Mai stepped forward and crowned her. Azula glanced at the crowd from the corner of her eye, holding her breath. Slowly, they began clapping, until the courtyard was almost as loud as when Zuko and Mai had appeared.

She didn't miss that none of Avatar Aang's friends were clapping, though.

After a curt nod, she and Ty Lee took their seats again and the ceremony resumed. It was short and simple and ended with Zuko and Mai bowing formally to one another. Rather than staying for the banquet, Azula expressed her desire to leave, and she and Ty Lee slipped back to their room.

"Wow, Azula! You're the princess again! I'm so happy for you." Ty Lee sprawled across the bed and smiled at her friend. "How do you feel?"

"I feel no different than before I was reinstated," Azula confessed. "The title is meaningless when it is final. I always dreamed of being Fire Lord... So what purpose does a princess's crown hold for me now?"

"A lot," Ty Lee replied confidently. "Because you heard what Zuko said, right? You really are important to him. And Mai wanted this too. They forgive you for whatever happened in the past."

"I wonder about that. Mai still hasn't said a word to me, and we've been living in the place for a year now."

"The palace is pretty big, Azula," Ty Lee giggled. "Anyway, that means you haven't spoken to her either. So just say hi the next time you see her. Well, when she's not busy with Zuko," she added slyly.

Azula shuddered. "Please don't imply things like that about my brother. They can keep their disgusting romantic life to themselves." She sat down next to Ty Lee and pulled the crown from her hair. Ty Lee gave her a questioning glance. "It's heavy," Azula said with a shrug. "I'll have to get used to wearing it again."

"Take all the time you need."

...-...

For two years, the only people Azula had any contact with were her numerous therapists and a handful of guards. Some of the therapists, especially early on, gave up and left the emotionally broken, violent ex-princess. One stood out from the rest, and though Azula was loath to say she liked this man, she at least didn't despise him. He allowed her to use her bending behind Fire Lord Zuko's back and he never called her crazy when she thought her mother was in the room with them. It was like maybe he trusted her, genuinely wanted her to get better.

This didn't compute in Azula's mind; everyone she knew only did things that benefited them, including herself. She accused him of putting up with her for money, and he had brought in his salary and burned it right in front of her, saying, "I'm doing this for you."

"But _why?_"

"Because no one should have to ask why someone wants to be nice to them. I want to erase the unhealthy mentality you were raised to regard as the sole truth."

Before long, he was the only therapist Azula would cooperate with. She still sneered at what she called his weak-hearted ideals, but they were beginning to sink in and to make sense, even if they did clash with what she'd always believed.

It was a slow process. She had been imprisoned for over a year when he brought up Mai and Ty Lee. When she firebended at him, he didn't see it as a set-back, but a step closer to understanding her mental state and helping _her _understand what she was feeling. Three months later, she admitted she missed them.

"If you want to be part of their lives again," he said, "you cannot treat them as you used to. Do not scare them, do not threaten them, and most of all do not try to control them. You might be scared yourself to think that they won't want to see you if you aren't forcing them too. Feel that fear and imagine what they must have been feeling with you. Love is more powerful than fear in the end, Azula. Mai proved that. Ty Lee proved that."

Azula did not believe they would want to see her again, and she was half-right. Only Ty Lee came the day she was to be released into Zuko's custody. She had come without being ordered to, and that meant something. Iroh and Ty Lee rode with her in a carriage back to the palace, and Azula didn't say a word. Iroh chatted about the weather, Ty Lee talked about her days as a Kyoshi warrior, and Azula kept her eyes trained out the window. When they reached the palace, she said, "You've gotten taller, Ty Lee."

It was just enough like the old days to make Azula feel strange. Ty Lee doted on Azula, they ate in one of the courtyards or the dining room where the portraits of her ancestors hung, and even slept in her old bedroom. The differences existed, of course. People spoke of Fire Lord Zuko, not Ozai. The Avatar and his friends, people she'd tried to kill, roamed the halls of the palace. And Mai ignored her completely.

After two weeks, Azula asked, "Do you forgive me, Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee's eyes had filled with tears. "Do you know what it means that you asked if _I _forgive _you_? I thought- I was so afraid you'd still be furious at me for protecting Mai from you. Honestly, at first I was glad to be away from you. I didn't have to worry about my life or chase people I didn't care about around the globe. But I really missed you, too. Even though you've done a lot of bad things, I know you're not a bad person. You're my best friend, Azula. You're already forgiven."

...-...

Azula was an early riser. Since her return to the palace, she'd taken up practicing her bending in the early morning again. The activity seemed almost empty, since she wasn't being pressured to perfection anymore. At first, she'd done it alone, sneaking outside and leaving Ty Lee asleep, but when Ty Lee realized what she was doing, she began coming to watch. Ty Lee preferred sleeping in, and she was always yawning as Azula lit up the scenery with blue fire, but she never missed a practice once she began. It meant more to Azula than she was ever willing to say.

A few mornings after the wedding, Zuko joined them too. Things were awkward between them, and probably always would be. The best they could expect from each other was civility.

"You haven't practiced bending lightning since you came back, have you?"

"Observant of you."

"Why?"

"Does it matter?"

"I think it does."

It was not Azula's voice that answered that; it was Mai's. "Maybe she's turned over a new leaf. One that doesn't involve killing people with electricity." The most powerful woman in the Fire Nation strolled past Zuko and stood in front of Azula. Ty Lee tensed up, remembering the last time they'd been face to face like this.

Azula said, "I am enough of a prodigy without lightning bending."

"That's not it," Zuko interjected. "When I joined the Avatar's group, I lost my ability to bend fire for awhile, because my purpose had shifted so drastically. You've lost a lot of your passion, Azula, and though you can still bend fire well, I think your ability to bend lightning has disappeared."

Azula snapped, "What do I have to be passionate for? You've taken my title and now I have nothing to strive for."

"Not right now. But you'll find something to fight for, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks, _Uncle,_" she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Stop it, Azula," Mai said. "He's just worried about you. You know why? Because we still care about you."

"It shows," she retorted. "You're happy to deal with me as little as possible."

"Because I knew we would start fighting again. I knew it would be better for you to recuperate under Ty Lee's care. You two were always closer. But I'm here now, so you can't say I've turned my back on you. Maybe one day, we can be friends again as well." She finished her speech and left, Zuko following behind.

...-...

Princess Azula and Ty Lee listened to Aang and Zuko argue back and forth over how best to deal with colonials and rebuild the many cities destroyed in the war and create balance for the first time in a century. All of their friends were chiming in with various suggestions, sitting at a round table as Azula and Ty Lee sat in a corner by themselves. Azula was getting fed up with how the conversation was going in circles and stated, "Even if you want to place all the blame on the Fire Nation, our race isn't exactly known for _restoration_. Let the Fire Nation do what it's good at- designing technology to speed up the rebuilding process, rallying behind your ideals of harmony and spreading their popularity- and let the other nations step in and help as well. If you're really expecting firebenders to fix the scar they left on the world, you're being foolish. Your movement requires all the nations to combine their strengths to establish even a precarious balance."

Everyone blinked at her, stunned, for a few moments. It was Sokka who gained his voice back first. _"You're _giving us tips on how to make things _better?"_

"Never thought I'd see the day," Katara muttered.

"You aren't planning to gain our trust and then abuse it, are you?" Suki asked suspiciously.

"She sounded sincere, but she's fooled us before," Toph put in.

"Oh, would you all just stop it?" Ty Lee exclaimed. "Azula is the smartest person in this room! She always has the best ideas for making things work."

"Peace isn't her area of expertise, though," Sokka pointed out.

"But she's good at everything!"

Mai said, "Azula's right. Even if one nation could fix the balance, it would take much longer than all three working together. It's important for the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom to forgive us, since we've shown how we're moving in a new direction under Zuko's leadership." The way she emphasized the last sentence let them all know they had someone they needed to forgive as well. "Azula, why don't you and Ty Lee come sit with us?"

They did, sitting between Mai and Zuko. The others didn't protest. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

...-...

Mai's groans of pain were audible from behind the closed door. Katara could be heard shouting for water, a towel, or for Zuko to get out of her way. "Why do we have to be here?" grumbled Azula from her spot in the hallway.

"Because you're going to be an aunt! Oh, I bet the baby's going to be so cute."

"I doubt it. Infants are incapable of being endearing."

Ty Lee wasn't really listening and started to wonder aloud about what they would name the baby. "I hope it's a girl! Maybe they'll name her Ame, or Agui, or, or-" Azula tuned her out until Katara opened the door and motioned for them to come in.

A sweat-soaked Mai was holding a tiny baby wrapped in a crimson blanket. Zuko was gingerly holding its hand, looking amazed at how fragile and small it was. He smiled at his sister and Ty Lee. "It's a girl. We're going to name her Honora."

"Of course you are," Azula muttered, staying back while Ty Lee all but pounced on the bed, squealing over the baby.

After a few minutes of baby Honora being passed around, Mai asked if Azula wanted to hold her. "I don't think so..." Azula seemed to regard the infant with suspicion.

"She's your niece. Here, just hold her for a minute." Zuko placed her in Azula's arms. Azula made a face at her wrinkled, red skin and the drool coming from the corner of her mouth. Honora squirmed a bit closer to the warmth of Azula's body. When exactly a minute had passed, Azula handed her back. "Congratulations, I suppose." She prepared to leave when Zuko held out an arm in front of her.

"If she's a firebender, I want you to be her teacher."

Azula looked him in the eye and said, "I'll consider it, when the time comes."

...-...

"Kick higher!" Azula barked, correcting the four-year-old bender's form. Little Honora tried, and mostly succeeded, in getting her leg up even higher and creating an arc of flame.

She complained, "Ty Lee is nicer to me. Look at what she showed me!" She followed the statement with a somersault.

"Well, that's great if you want to follow in her footsteps and join the circus, but if you want to be a ruler of this nation, you're going to have to master firebending."

Honora scowled, but was more than used to Azula's harsh teachings and vocabulary that she couldn't entirely understand.

"Azula, stop being mean to her!" Ty Lee scolded, walking over to them on her hands. Honora clapped at the spectacle.

"I'm not being mean, I'm being honest."

"Well, you could be honest in a nicer way!"

Honora giggled and said, "You two fight like Dad and Mom!"

"All right, go back inside. But you better work harder tomorrow."

When Honora was back with Mai, Ty Lee and Azula sat together under a huge tree behind the palace. The quiet was nice, but Ty Lee eventually broke it to ask, "How do you like being an advisor?"

Azula's new position in the palace was advising Zuko in anything and everything he was worried about. She could tell he truly valued her input, as of course he should; she had a tendency to be accurate in all her strategies. Even "Team Avatar" began looking for her for advice in various things.

"...It's okay."

Ty Lee looked at her searchingly. "Are you happy, Azula? You seem to be content, but I want you to be more than that."

"I don't deserve more than that," Azula said, looking away.

"Of course you do."

"You're the only one who really thinks so. Even if the others have accepted me now, I don't belong here. That's clear enough."

"Then where shall we go?"

Azula gazed sharply at her friend. "Excuse me?"

"If you aren't happy here, we can go wherever you want. I'll follow you wherever, I promise."

Azula considered her words and returned the question. "Where do _you _want to go?"

"I belong wherever you are, Azula. That's where I'm happy. So, you pick. Or we can just keep traveling until we find a place you like."

Azula thought about all the places she'd seen in the world and couldn't think of any she'd especially liked. She hadn't been to any of them to enjoy herself; she'd always been on a mission. Ty Lee could see her dilemma and suggested, "Why don't we just head east? It doesn't matter where we end up, but I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun along the way. I went to some great places when I was with the Kyoshi warriors."

"Maybe you're the crazy one, Ty Lee," Azula mused. "So, when are we leaving?"

...-...

On a silk pillow in an empty bedroom in the palace of the Fire Nation rests a flame-shaped crown and a pink ribbon, a testament to two women, born of noble blood, who set out to claim a destiny neither expected to want.


	11. Expected of You

**A/N: I find it easier to write from Azula's perspective, but I want to get better at using Ty Lee's. That was part of my motivation behind writing this chapter. Please let me know how I did!**

Azula always seems so jealous that I'm more acrobatic than her. Isn't that silly? She's the princess, after all! She doesn't tell me she's jealous, but I can tell because her aura turns this purple-bruise color. Normally it's bright blue, like her fire, so when it gets dark like that I know she's mad.

But anyway, she keeps trying to get better than me at cartwheels and stuff. That's why it's weird that she's not competing with me this morning. She's just watching me with her arms crossed as I pretend I'm in a circus and do a bunch of flips. It's scaring me a little.

"Azula, play with me!"

She gives me one of those scowls like she can't believe how childish I am. "I'm fine, thank you very much." But then she squints her eyes and shifts like suddenly she's hurt. I rush to her and ask what's wrong.

"Nothing!" she tells me, and I probably should back off, but I'm really worried about her now. It looks like she's hiding her hands from me so I beg to see them. Finally she rolls her eyes and thrusts her hands out at me.

I gasp because they're covered with bandages. They're loose like she put them on herself and couldn't tighten them right. Peeking from a gap is red skin. "Azula, did you get burned? Was it when you were firebending?"

"Of course not! Maybe _Zuzu _would get burned by his own fire, but not me."

"But then how-"

"Shut up, it's not important."

I close my mouth and pout. Usually Azula gives in when I open my eyes wide and frown big, but not this time.

I forget about this until about three months later. I'm looking around for Azula, because Mai and I want to play with her, but she's not in her room. I freeze when I hear Fire Lord Ozai's roaring voice. Well, it's like a roar, but also quiet, which makes it even scarier. The voice is coming from behind a door I don't recognize and I start to tiptoe away when I hear Azula's voice too. I have to put my ear against the door to find out what's going on.

I can barely hear them talking. "That was an amateur mistake, Azula. I expect better of you."

"Yes, Father," Azula murmured.

"Leave now, but I expect you to have mastered the form by tomorrow."

I scurry away so Azula doesn't know I was eavesdropping, but when she finds me down the hallway, I can tell it didn't work. She just _knows_. I drop my eyes from her mad expression and see her hands. They're all badly bandaged up again and if I breathe in deeply, I can smell burnt skin. That's when I know how she got the burns- who was burning her, actually.

"If you ever speak of this, I will drown you in the turtle-duck pond," she hissed and stomped by.

So I never did. I know she wasn't going to drown me, of course, but even I know when Azula means for an order to be obeyed. But it became hard for me to concentrate on whatever I was doing in the afternoons, when Azula has her training sessions with the Fire Lord. I would start worrying about her getting hurt, but I guess I was worrying too much. Azula's just so good at firebending. She keeps getting better and better and she's bandaged on her hands or arms less and less.

I don't have to worry anymore about her being in pain.

-_Seven Years Later_-

I already miss the circus. I only just mastered a really complicated routine, and thanks to Azula I don't get to perform it in front of anyone. Still, I can't say no to Azula, and I'm actually really glad to see her! It reminds me of when we were little, since Mai's here too. We're on a huge ship right now but tomorrow we're heading out on our own to find Zuko and Iroh. Well, at least I'm guaranteed to get to try my new acrobatic moves, even if I didn't think I would be using them in combat first.

It's hard for me to sleep when I'm in a new place, so I end up wandering the deck and watching the waves roll by. I'm starting to get drowsy when I see something flash on the upper deck. Curious, I follow the light, and end up right behind the control room. Making sure to be absolutely silent in my steps, I peer around the corner and see Azula pacing back and forth, muttering something to herself. I strain to hear and can just make out a little. "No good... How can I expect...when I can't even properly..." She looks so upset I just want to hug her but I stay back for some reason.

She picks up a lantern and removes the candle from within. The next line I hear clearly. "I expect better from you, Azula." And she clamps her hand over the burning candle, her mouth set in a grim line. I almost gasp, my hands flying to cover my mouth. Eventually- it feels like forever- Azula pulls her hand from the candle and stares at it and I know it's burned. She covers the burn, not with bandages, but a black glove that makes it less obvious what she's hiding.

I slip away, back to my room, and fling myself on my bed. My heart's pounding at what I just saw and with the realization that I shouldn't have stopped worrying about Azula being hurt when she reached perfection in pleasing Fire Lord Ozai. She's still hurting herself.

But more than that, she's hurting inside. When she reprimanded herself up there, her aura turned the darkest black I've ever seen.

I don't know what to do. I don't know how I can help her. I just know that I can never, ever leave her side.


	12. An Offer, A Choice

**A/N: First off, sorry for missing last week's update. The truth is, I'm not going to be able to keep updating weekly. But don't worry! I still will every two to three weeks.**

**This chapter... is a bit more adult than any of the previous ones. Just so you know.**

"Father says none of them are good enough for me," Azula states, shoves me down on her bed. I sink into silk sheets as she undresses me, ripping every thread of clothing from my body. She's fully armored but I don't mention it. I feel hands graze my skin, her fingernails lightly scraping my sides where I'm most sensitive. I do my best not to squirm, but when she applies more pressure I can't help it.

Her lips capture mine the moment I begin to laugh from her near-tickling, and soon I'm moaning as she cups a breast with one hand and with the other, works her way up my thigh. All too soon she withdraws. I close my eyes, blissfully imagining what is yet to come, as layer after layer of armor is stripped, softly thudding to the floor.

"There were three offers this week alone." She's back, hovering above me. There's muted danger in her tone, and I shiver, imagining what would happen if an offer was ever accepted.

I run my fingers through Azula's bangs before boldly removing her hairpin. I love the way her hair looks as it cascades down, so long and soft as it drapes over her thin shoulders. She allows this, but she never unbraids my hair or asks me too. She says it would just get in the way.

When the kissing resumes, it's fiercer and more demanding. Her tongue dominates my mouth and I don't put up the slightest hint of a fight. Her body conforms to mine and we are so close and it's still not enough so I wrap my arms around her and hold her tighter.

The shift happens every time. There is no cue, no set time for it to begin; I just know when she wants it to. I sense that moment approaching and when she breaks off the kiss, it's time.

I flip our positions and admire the beautiful princess beneath me in only this way. Lust glows in her golden eyes and I'm sure she can see the want in my own. My eyes linger on her face one more moment before I begin pleasing Azula in every way I know how.

She is a sadist in the throne room, but a masochist in the bedroom.

I think's it's because there's no way she can derive pleasure from gentle caresses and chaste kisses. We have those too, but she likes it best when things are as rough and painful as petting a dragon's spiked scale.

And you know, even when I'm biting her shoulder or twisting us up in positions only someone as flexible as me could be comfortable in, she's still the one in control. Everything I do is to make her happy, to see her cheeks flushed with passion and hear the broken breathing that means she's ready to come.

When it's all over, I snuggle against her and bury my face in her hair. It smells like cinnamon and smoke. My smile slips just a little when she pulls away and rises, evaporating the sweat from her body before she redresses. She pauses before she leaves, and I wonder where she was going anyway- this is her room.

Leaning over me, she kisses me once more and murmurs in my ear, "One day Father will have turned down the marriage offers of all the male nobles in the nation. That's when..." She says nothing more. The door closes behind her and I'm all alone.

Exhausted, I pull the sheets over me without bothering to find pajamas to wear. I rest my head on the pillow that smells of her and finish the sentence in my head a hundred ways before deciding which I like best, and then I repeat it silently until I fall asleep.

_"That's when I'll choose for myself, and I've already picked you."_


	13. Apologies

**A/N: Thanks for being patient, everyone. I'm going to keep updating this collection, so don't worry about that. Thanks for all the reviews so far- they mean so much to me!**

Flames danced in tandem with the acrobat's motions high above the now-useless net. Princess Azula smiled fiercely, coldly- it was almost a miracle her frosty smile didn't extinguish the fire. Ty Lee's jewelry shimmered in the heat, and drops of sweat appeared on her forehead. Azula could see her losing her mental composure even as she went through the routine flawlessly.

Sometimes, Azula knew, you just had to squash Ty Lee's whims. She did silly things, like run away to the circus, and for a time Azula had allowed that, but in the end Ty Lee was hers, and when she called, Ty Lee had better come. A slight reprimand like this would remind the acrobat of her status.

...

Ty Lee didn't flinch when Azula appeared out of nowhere and dropped the bouquet of flowers on the vanity in front of her. "Thanks, Azula!" she exclaimed, sniffing the flowers. They were fresh, probably bought less than an hour ago by one of Azula's guards.

"You're welcome, Ty Lee. Your performance was very exciting; I think I'll watch tomorrow's as well."

Ty Lee laughed, a sound that used to annoy Azula, because she'd do it all the time. She didn't mind it so much anymore. "You can watch, but I won't be in it. I'm quitting the circus so I can join you on your hunt for the Avatar. It's what the Universe wants."

"I'm glad to hear that," Azula replied smoothly. She leaned down and kissed the acrobat on her cheek. "I'll send some guards to pack your things. There's something else I'd like to do this evening before we go find Mai."

"Mai's coming too?" Ty Lee asked, delighted. "Wonderful!"

"Yes. She's an invaluable fighter. Now, about this evening..."

...

The Universe. Azula. Was there a difference? Azula was Ty Lee's universe, after all. Ty Lee wasn't a fool, and even if Azula sometimes thought she was, she knew Ty Lee knew the fire and animals were no act of the universe. The princess had ordered the dangerous turn of events. It had been a sign for Ty Lee: _you don't have a choice but to follow me_. It was also a test: _will you mess up? I don't accept people who make mistakes._

Ty Lee had been pushed around by Azula for most of her life, and Mai didn't understand why she seemed so okay with it. It wasn't hard to understand, though. Azula needed Ty Lee, and she knew it, even if she didn't know Ty Lee knew she did. Whenever her father was disappointed in her training, or her mother ignored her, or Zuko got all the attention just because he was a boy, Azula would yell at Ty Lee or push her to the ground or, worst of all, give her the silent treatment for a day or two. Then, she would feel better. It hurt, but Ty Lee understood Azula only did it because _she_ hurt. So it was okay.

Especially because Azula always apologized. Rarely in a normal, recognizable way, of course. Since when was her princess ever typical? She apologized without words, while wearing a teasing smirk as she touched Ty Lee in all the right places. Azula had been especially cruel that night, so now she was being especially apologetic.

"Azula," Ty Lee whispered in between kisses.

"Yes, Ty Lee?"

That was as far as she ever got when trying to tell the princess those words that had been burned into her soul long ago. One day, she would tell Azula, _I love you_. Until then, she didn't have to settle for much less, wrapped in the arms of her beloved.


	14. Traditions

**A/N: For GuitarBOSS's request. I have a list of all my requests, but I may do them out of order, depending on where inspiration strikes. I've gotten some really good ones, so I'll try to just do requests for the next few updates.**

**This story has surpassed 10,000 views. That makes me so happy, guys. Keep reading, and keep shipping these two wonderful characters!**

Traditions could be so unfortunate.

Ozai sat on his throne and meditated. The heat in the room intensified as the flames grew with each exhalation, but not a single drop of sweat appeared on Ozai's face. Complete control over a savage element and the ability to never show weakness: those were traits a Fire Lord needed. They were traits he did not see in his son, Zuko.

The tips of the flames became white as Ozai's frustration built. His daughter, Azula- she was a prodigy. She could learn the most difficult firebending techniques with only brief instruction. She'd even taught herself to form lightning from the air. Her analyses of military strategy were on par with some of his generals, even though she was only twelve.

If only she'd been a boy. As it was, his first-born Zuko was slated to inherit the throne, and compared to the inferno that was Azula, he was a flickering candle.

Ozai dug his fingers into his knees. Even if, somehow, Zuko lost his birthright, Azula still could not become Fire Lord. She could be Fire Lady to a nobleman, and then it would be his lineage that seized the throne. That would be unacceptable.

It was a lose-lose situation.

/.../

Things barely changed at the palace after Ozai banished Zuko. Strict attention was paid the war, and anyone gossipping about the ex-prince was soon silenced. After all, this wasn't as drastic as when Ursa had murdered Azulon and then disappeared, and in case Zuko did actually find the Avatar and was reinstated as crown prince, no one wanted to be known as having badmouthed him during his absence.

To Ozai, things seemed much better. There were still moments when he felt a twinge of guilt or regret, and he'd think back to when Zuko was born and he'd imagined him as one day becoming a powerful ruler. These moments came less and less often as Azula flourished in all aspects of her training, making him proud every day. The war was going well, and he stopped worrying about the future of the throneline for the present. And then one day, he found Azula in a most compromising situation.

He was walking back from a meeting with his advisor when he heard laughter coming from Azula's bedroom. He frowned, displeased; Azula was supposed to study with Lo and Li after lunch, not play around with her friends. He recognized that laugh as belonging to Ty Lee, a nobleman's daughter and one of her close friends from school.

He threw the door open and came to a halt. His daughter and Ty Lee were tangled together on top of her bed, eyes closed, kissing. As soon as the door hit the wall, Ty Lee jumped back, letting out a cry of surprise, and Azula hopped to her feet, face red in an unusual display of emotion. "F-father, I-"

"Throne room. Now."

He heard Azula hurrying to match his pace as he strode through the halls. When they reached the throne room and Ozai made sure they were alone, he took a seat and studied his daughter's face. She was kneeling and kept her eyes on the floor. She offered up no excuses, waiting for his judgment in silence; Ozai knew if it had been Zuko, he would already be stuttering out explanations.

"You have feelings for Ty Lee."

"...Yes, Father."

"And Ty Lee returns them?"

"She does."

He settled back in his seat, thinking the situation over as Azula waited patiently. This was an unexpected turn of events... As well as a most-welcome one. If it were two women, he mused, Azula _could _take the title of Fire Lord. If she needed to produce an heir, that could be arranged, but the important thing was that the throne would continue _his _legacy.

"I see. You are dismissed."

Azula rose and narrowed her eyes just a bit. "You... aren't going to reprimand me?"

"If I detect a hint of slacking in your studies or firebending, I will forbid you from seeing Ty Lee. Otherwise, you are free to pursue a relationship with her."

She nodded. "I will never forget my priorities." After a quick bow, she left the room.

Ozai smiled. His son may have been worthless, but even when she wasn't trying, Azula never disappointed him.


	15. I'll Follow Her

**A/N: So this one's kind of different. I really like it, I gotta say. It's AU, set in a modern world like ours, and it's meant to give you glimpses of what their relationship could look like if the pressures of royalty and bending hadn't existed.**

**Also, I need to stop planning, wow, I really meant to work on more requests and then I wrote this. But, rather than wait and have an update that fulfilled a request first, I thought I'd go ahead and post this.**

I think maybe I should convert to Buddhism. Reincarnation's gotta be real, 'cause she was definitely a queen in a past life.

"And what were you?" she asks before sucking on my neck until I'm marked with a bruise. She pulls away, looking satisfied. "My court jester?"

I put my hands on my hips and tilt my head for her to reach the other side of my neck before protesting, "No way! I was your love-at-first-sight. Maybe I was the princess of a different country, and you demanded my hand in marriage right after we first met!"

She rolls her eyes and tells me I'm crazy, but I'm not the one who circles those notices in local papers, the ones about foreclosed buildings. I'm not the one who douses the walls with gasoline and lets a match do the rest. I'm just the one standing by her when she does. She watches the buildings ignite, burn, collapse. I watch those amber eyes that shine with life.

/.../

People think she's not romantic. They're right, but she tries, she really does, sometimes. One time we slept on a beach and when the sun woke us up, she pulled me close and said she loved me and then kissed me until I was begging for her to let me breathe. Then, when I inhaled, I realized oxygen wasn't half as good as whatever elements made up her kissing, and I pressed our lips together once more.

And you should have seen what she did for me on our first anniversary- wait, no, that would just be weird.

/.../

I wink at the group of guys checking me out. Summer's my favorite season, because it allows my favorite wardrobe. I show off my belly and arms and wear the shortest shorts I can find, and trust me, I look hard. My clothes are always pink or red, and a long braid down my back swishes back and forth when I walk.

They whistle as I pass, and she gets that scowl that means she's jealous but I better not accuse her of being so. I dart in front of her and take her hands before leaning up for a kiss. It doesn't shut the boys up- the opposite happens, actually, now they're really excited- but she's happy again and that's all that's ever mattered to me.

/.../

There's beauty in destruction. I learned that from her.

It's night, and this is routine by now, parking across the road and hastily approaching the doomed building. This one's two stories, built from wood and painted yellow. I'm glad. Yellow buildings burn more prettily than most.

Pour the gasoline, strike the match. I inhale smoke but it doesn't make me cough anymore. She stands too close to the building for it to be safe, but really warnings like that only apply to normal people. She's special. All of the fires of Hell couldn't take her down, I'm sure.

When there's nothing but ashes and the sound of sirens in the distance, we notice someone behind us. No one ever sneaks up on her, so I'm a little worried, very surprised. The girl looks older than us and has amber eyes, too. She looks bored as she comments, "Interesting hobby."

She lives by the house we burned down, and it was a really strange way to become friends, but that's what happened. Now there were three of us. Three's a good number, and we have lots of fun, and when we need it to just be two, the new girl can tell and she disappears, I think to flirt with my girlfriend's brother.

/.../

I like to braid her hair and paint her nails and put make-up on her, but she usually only lets me do that second one. She spreads her fingers and watches as I brush dark red over her sharp nails. I blow on them to help them dry, but sometimes she runs out of patience and her hands are all over me and then the polish is smudged and I have to paint them all over again.

/.../

We go on double-dates, me and her and her brother and our new friend. They got annoyed this one time I dragged them all to a fortune-teller psychic lady, but I knew it would be fun, and they went along with it in the end. But I think I got ripped off, 'cause she just told me my soul-mate was nearby. I already knew that.

/.../

"Climbing trees again?"

I hook my knees on a branch and hang upside down, grinning at her. Her eyes carefully observe how my shirt slips down. "The view from up here's great."

"It's not so bad down here, either."

/.../

Prom was great. I wore a sparkly, strapless dress and she wore a silky crimson gown. Her hair was loose, but I kept mine in a braid. We danced in the center of the room, and she deserved all the attention her looks got her, and they deserved all the glares she gave them when they tried to cut in and dance with me.

When it was over, we were still dancing under the stars, illuminated by the flames licking at the house close by.

/.../

We're gonna graduate this spring and go to college, I guess. College sounds boring, but life without her sounds even worse. I can't even pretend I could live without her. Whenever she leads me somewhere and I'm being too slow, she takes my hand and tugs me along. She never has to tug hard. I'll follow her wherever, and if that reincarnation thing turns out to be true, I'll still be following her through as many lifetimes as we live together. I know it.


	16. Dear Azula

**A/N: I was told by several people that they enjoyed the last chapter even though they don't often like modern day AUs. That was a great compliment! So, thanks again to everyone who reads this. I'm sorry I was away for all of December, but this longer update will hopefully make up for that. This was written for the Avatar Secret Santa on tumblr, where I was fortunate enough to receive a giftee who enjoyed Tyzula fanfiction.**

**Review and make my day?**

Dear Azula,

Hi, Azula! Oops, I already wrote your name up there, so I guess I didn't have to say it again. I know you don't like it when people repeat themselves. But I could say your name over and over, since it's so pretty! I remember that you used to not like it 'cause it came from Azulon's name, but I liked it ever since I first heard it. Am I rambling now? I'm sorry, I know you hate that too. I'm just a little nervous. I've never written a letter before, and we haven't talked since, you know. The Boiling Rock. I miss talking to you, Azula. Will you write back? I'm sending a hawk from the palace, so you can send a letter back with him.

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Dear Azula,

Hi again! Did you get my last letter? The hawk came back, but he didn't bring anything with him. Maybe you couldn't find a pen? You should have just asked for one, silly! I would really like to hear from you. Things are pretty boring around here, even though I'm a Kyoshi warrior now. Remember them? It was so fun fighting them before and dressing up in their clothes. It was like playing dress-up when we were little. Well, you and Mai never played with me, but still. Anyway, I don't do much but guard things. I can hardly even jump around in their heavy uniforms. Maybe I need another career change. What do you think?

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Dear Azula,

It's summer again. That means it's been over a year since I've seen you. I miss you a lot. Won't you write back? I'm sending a pen this time and some extra paper, so make sure you do!

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Dear Azula,

Do you hate me? Mai says you do.

Your maybe friend,

Ty Lee

Dear Azula,

I'm going to come see you, okay? I'm not very good at being a Kyoshi warrior, so I quit. Zuko doesn't think you want any visitors, but I have to make sure for myself.

I really am your friend,

Ty Lee

Ty Lee,

Just what are you thinking? Someone found your uniform under a sink in the servants' quarters, and one of the ostrich horses is missing. If you wanted to sneak away on one, you could have at least picked the one you didn't always put bows on and make up nicknames for. Zuko and I know you're going to see Azula, and I'm telling you for your own good not to. Just come back home, okay?

From Mai

Dear Ty Lee,

Mai told me what happened. You know how much evil Azula's done, don't you? She played a huge role in the war that claimed so many lives, and unlike Ozai, she did it at a personal level. She tortured me for information, Ty Lee. Come back and be a warrior again. Please. You can't trust that girl.

Suki

Dear Mai and Suki,

You act like I'm stupid for going to see her, but I don't care. Azula was the first person to believe in me and my abilities. Not even my own family did. And I love her more than I distrust her.

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Ty Lee,

If you dare step foot in my room, I will burn you to a crisp. I don't want to see you.

We were never friends.

Princess Azula

Azula,

Wrong address. Ty Lee's already on her way, but hawks travel faster than ostrich horses in that terrain. Don't even think about hurting Ty Lee. To be honest, you're an idiot if you do. She's the last person in the world who cares whether you live or die.

Mai

Mai,

How dare you call _me_ an idiot. You sided with Zuko, the biggest traitor the Fire Nation has even known. I do not wish for your advice on how to treat people, considering you're a traitor as well.

Princess Azula

Azula,

Fine, let me ask you this. You signed your other letter to Ty Lee with "we were never friends." Am I supposed to believe you never liked her, even a little? The times I found you two off kissing somewhere outnumber the amount of weapons I keep in my cloak. I'm sure I don't have to remember you that that's a lot.

Mai,

I used her. I used you both.I'm sure you're aware.

Princess Azula

Azula,

I know about love; I know about love tainted with betrayal and pain. I've been there too, Azula, but at least I didn't lie to myself. I got back what I wanted.

Fire Lady Mai

Dear Azula,

I'm almost there! I can't wait to see you again.

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Dear Mai,

Please don't listen to that guard. Azula wasn't _that_ mean. She only burned me a tiny bit. She even talked to me after awhile! She just needs some time to open up more. I think she's really lonely, Mai. I'm going to stay in the town nearby and keep visiting her.

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Dear Ty Lee,

We won't try to stop you. Just know you're treading on thin ice and if it breaks, you'll plunge into a volcano.

Zuko, Mai, and Iroh

Zu-zu,

I seem to recall the other inhabitants of this wretched place being allowed to refuse visitors. Could you enlighten me on why I must see Ty Lee every day?

Princess Azula

Azula,

Permission from the palace has overriden institution rules, but I'm sure you already guessed that. Listen, I know it's hard to forgive people when they've hurt you. But you have to learn to forgive, Azula. People always hurt each other, but that doesn't mean they can't stay friends. Or more. Did you and Ty Lee really kiss?

Don't actually answer that,

Fire Lord Zuko

Zu-zu,

As if it's any of your business.

Princess Azula

Dear Mai,

Azula talked to me today! For like, more than a sentence! And her aura wasn't so dark. The stars are finally aligning in my favor.

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Dear Ty Lee,

I hate to have to say this, but make sure Azula's not just trying to get you to help her escape by being nice again. That's the sort of thing she would do.

Mai

Dear Mai,

Azula hasn't said anything about escaping once. And she's not really being that nice, I guess. But she doesn't yell at me to leave anymore. She says it makes her throat hurt, but I think she actually likes company. There's not a lot to do at the institution. I told her someone as brilliant as she is has to be bored there, and she agreed. But then she wouldn't let me do any tricks for her. She's so- what's the word? She's so fickle.

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Azula,

We haven't gotten any complaints from you recently. Admit it, you like having Ty Lee around again.

Zuko and Mai

Zuko and Mai,

Only a fool keeps speaking when no one is listening. In that regard, Ty Lee has reached a new level of foolishness. I'm merely tolerating her presence.

Princess Azula

Azula,

I'm so so so so sorry I couldn't come this week! I got really sick, but I tried to come anyway, but I fell in the snow and got a fever so then I really couldn't get out of bed. I thought you wouldn't miss me that much, but I heard you got mad at the guard who said I wasn't coming and tried to burn him. I'm going to be back next week, okay?

Love,

Ty Lee

Ty Lee,

I don't care if you come or not. I firebended at the guard because he was being a nuisance.

Princess Azula

Ty Lee,

Bring fireflakes when you come. The food here is terrible.

Princess Azula

Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai,

In addition to the yearly report I have sent, I would like to add a final note about the status of Azula. She has improved remarkably since the girl named Ty Lee began visiting. In fact, Ty Lee has lifted the spirits of several of the inmates. We are considering offering her a job here, but of course we would ask for your thoughts on the matter first. Would you believe me if I said I heard Azula laughing the other day for the first time in over a year? I'm not sure I believe it myself.

Overseer Gao

Dear Mai,

I'm so happy I could burst. I hope Azula can leave the institution soon, but as long as I can see her every day it's okay. She doesn't hate me, you know. Maybe she did at first, but I know she doesn't know.

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Azula,

You kissed Ty Lee again, didn't you?

Mai

Mai,

If someone was chatty as Ty Lee wanted you to know, don't you think she would have told you?

Princess Azula

Azula,

Not if you threatened her.

Mai

Mai,

Your letters are possibly the low-point of my day. Feel free to stop sending them.

Princess Azula

Dear Mai,

Are you still mad Azula told you not to write? I hope you aren't. I know you and Zuko are still afraid she's going to use me, and sometimes I get scared about it too. She used both of us before, and I remember how terrible it felt. But it's different now. She's different, now that Ozai isn't always telling her what to do and how to act. I think she's gonna be okay.

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Overseer Gao,

Could you please please pretty please allow Azula and me some privacy for once? I mean, it's not like we can escape with all those guards in the hallway and no windows in her room!

Sincerely,

Ty Lee

Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai,

I have received a request to stop supervising Ty Lee's visits with Azula. How should I proceed?

Overseer Gao

Gao,

We can't risk that ye-

Please disregard Zuko's worrying nature. We leave this in your judgment. If Ty Lee feels it is a good idea and you do as well, go ahead.

Fire Lady Mai

Azula,

For the love of Agni, don't break that girl's heart.

Mai

Mai,

Azula showed me that letter. How mean! Azula's not gonna break my heart. Yesterday, well, we actually- oh, nevermind, people might read these letters.

Your friend,

Ty Lee

Azula,

I mean it.

Mai

Fire Lord Zuko,

As per your request, our doctor reexamined Azula. Her change is remarkable, leading him to believe that many of her mental problems stemmed from her environment, particularly the influence of the previous Fire Lord. Contrarily, having Ty Lee around has eased the anger and loneliness recorded upon her admittance. The doctor has no doubt Azula will continue to improve under Ty Lee's influence and will be able to leave the institution within a year.

Overseer Gao

Azula,

I know I just saw you today and I'll probably see you before you get this letter, but I wanted to send it anyway to wish you happy birthday again. I love you, Azula, I really do.

Ty Lee

Ty Lee,

Stop looking over my shoulder as I write you a letter. It defeats the purpose. Yes, I suppose, I could just tell you what I wanted to say, but I prefer to do it this way. You know I am not the most open about matters such as this. I have never- excuse me, did you just say that I was rambling? I'm much too dignified to commit such a verbal blunder. Stop laughing or I'll burn this paper and then you'll never see how the letter ends. There, that's better. Ty Lee, you betrayed me once, and if you ever do it again you'll be sorry. But I will still say what I need to say. I love you. So you'd better mean it when you say you'll love me forever. Oh, stop crying and kiss me already. I'm not very pati-


End file.
